Category: Wyandotte County

Students recognized for scholarships

Students from 12 eastern Kansas counties were recognized for the scholarships they have been awarded from Fort Hays State University at a recent Student Recognition Program in Overland Park.

The event included students from Wyandotte County.

Scholarships awarded at the SRPs include the $1,200 Miller Black and Gold Academic Award and the $800 Hays City Silver Academic Award. Both are renewable provided students maintain the minimum required academic standing.

Also awarded are the $2,000 FHSU Presidential Award, the $700 Fort Hays Bronze Academic Award and the $500 Copper Academic Award, all of which are one-time scholarships given only to incoming freshmen enrolling in college for the first time.

The $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship, which is a one-time award, is also awarded at SRPs.

Each SRP event also featured two drawings — one for a $400 FHSU Student Recognition Program Scholarship and another for an iPad.

Students from Wyandotte County schools included:

Bishop Ward High School:

Ana Palacio, a 2014 Bishop Ward High School graduate, accepted a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Palacio, daughter of Carmen Palacio, Kansas City, Kan., plans to major in nursing. She is with FHSU President Edward H. Hammond, right, and Dorothy Ochs, assistant professor of nursing, left.

Ricardo Zamora, a 2014 Bishop Ward High School graduate, accepted a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant, a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in the College of Business and Entrepreneurship and a $500 Copper Academic Award. Zamora, son of Veronica Vasquez, Kansas City, Kan., plans to major in management and marketing. He is with FHSU President Edward H. Hammond, right, and Micol Maughan, associate professor of management and marketing.

Sumner Academy:

Irma Machuca, a 2014 Sumner Academy graduate, accepted an $800 Hays City Silver Academic Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Machuca, daughter of Francisco and Graciela Machuca, Kansas City, Kan., plans to major in studio art. She is with FHSU President Edward H. Hammond, right, and Joel Dugan, assistant professor of art and design.

A reception was held by Fort Hays State University for several scholarship students recently in Overland Park, Kan.

Officers graduate from training

Five local officers recently graduated from training at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, near Yoder, Kan.

Lt. Col. Alan Stoecklein of the Kansas Highway Patrol congratulated 53 new law enforcement officers during their graduation from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center on Feb. 28.

The new officers were members of the 227th basic training class at the center. Located one mile west and one mile south of Yoder, near Hutchinson, the center is a division of University of Kansas Continuing Education.

The graduates, who began their training Nov. 4, 2013, represented 37 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies from across Kansas.

Five graduates from Kansas City, Kan., include:

Kenneth Blount, a patrol officer with the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools Police Department;

LaTrina Johnson, a patrol officer with the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools Police Department;

Mark Ming, a patrol officer with the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools Police Department;

James Minich, a deputy with the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department; and

James Shepherd, a deputy with the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department.

Graduates receive certificates of course completion from KLETC and Kansas law enforcement certification from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, the state’s law enforcement licensing authority.

The training course fulfills the state requirement for law enforcement training. Classroom lectures and hands-on applications help train officers to solve the increasingly complex problems they face in the line of duty.

Unemployment rate rises to 8.4 percent in January

The January unemployment rate in Wyandotte County rose to 8.4 percent, as compared to December’s 6.9 percent.
Compared to one year ago, the Wyandotte County unemployment rate improved from 9.2 percent in January 2013 to 8.4 percent in January 2014, according to the Kansas Department of Labor statistics.
According to a state unemployment map, the only Kansas county with a higher unemployment rate in January 2014 was Linn County, with 8.7 percent unemployment. Statewide, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent.
A spokesman for the KDOL stated that the figures are not seasonally adjusted and most of the unemployment rate increase in Wyandotte County is due to season factors such as retail and construction.
While the change from December to January is larger than seen in the last few years, it is not uncommon for Wyandotte County, as in January 2011 the unemployment rate change was an increase of 1.6 percent from December to January, the spokesman stated.
January 2014 saw an increase of 1,026 unemployed people from the previous month, while the percentage change in the labor force and employment was a much smaller number.
In January 2013, Wyandotte County had a much smaller increase in unemployed people, at 473 more over the previous month, according to state statistics.